A series of unfortunate legal battles

Jim Carrey. Some of you may know him as the Grinch who stole (and then felt bad about stealing, so he returned) Christmas, the guy from“The Mask,” and/or the dummy from the classic “Dumb and Dumber.” But within the past year, the famous comedian/actor has been portraying a lead character embroiled in a wrongful death lawsuit in the movie of his own life.

It all started last year with the untimely death of Carrey’s ex-girlfriend Cathriona White. She committed suicide by means of an overdose of drugs obtained illegally under the pseudonym “Arthur King.” Now, White’s mother, Brigid Sweetman, is suing Carrey for allegedly giving her daughter STDs and then unintentionally killing her by providing her with the drugs necessary to combat the illnesses.

The accusations of Sweetman mark the second time that Carrey has been to court to defend himself against a wrongful death charge. The first documented case stemmed from the estranged spouse of White, Mark Burton.

In both cases, Carrey’s legal attorneys have said that the drugs White obtained were stolen from the Hollywood star. Skeptics of Sweetman reason that she simply seeks a scapegoat to assuage her anguish at her daughter’s passing or that she seeks monetary compensation from Carrey’s pockets.

Regardless of how White got a hold of the drugs, she intentionally killed herself, leaving a note that read: “Please forgive me, I’m just not for this world.” A victim of depression, she had attempted suicide before the infamous overdose.

The question now is who is responsible, if anyone at all. People close to White have come forward and said that Sweetman’s relation ship with her daughter was grievously strained.

A lesson that can be gleaned from this tragedy is to be conscientious of how serious suicide and depression are, even in people like White, who died at age 28.

She had her whole life ahead of her, and took her own life due to mental sickness.

One never knows someone else’s story or the problems they are facing, and so treating everyone with kindness is truly the best way of going about our daily lives.

Doménica Castro is a first-year student majoring in theater. She can be reached at DC874612@wcupa.edu.

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